Waldman F 44 Looper has been found!
For the past 30 years or so I have been quietly searching for the missing Gerry Waldman F Looper, serial number XF14. Over the years I have heard various stories about this elusive motor -- it was scattered and scrapped, it had been bought and then sold and then disappeared, even recent claims from someone out west that they thought they had found the motor -- but none of the stories could be documented & proven true until now. Really!
I received the most amazing call this weekend. Dick Ollhoff found an old 44 Looper 2 years ago that he bought and tucked away and forgot about. This weekend he finally dug it up and called me to find out who the original owner was in the Quincy Welding record book.
Yes, it was the missing Waldman XF14 Looper!! We did some background tracking on the motor and have definitely documented and verified (including tesimonial evidence from one of the previous owners) that Dick did actually find the Holy Grail of the Waldman Looper engines. Dick said he plans to restore the motor when he has time and take it to classic outboard shows.
Can you believe his luck? Dick said he had no clue at the time he bought it that it was anything special. Dick is now the proud owner of 2 Waldman Loopers -- yes, he also owns the Waldman C Looper that had belonged to Larry Latta.
This C and F are probably the last 2 engines that Gerry Waldman won with in 1972 before his fatal accident in D hydro at Hot Springs, Arkansas. Wayne Baldwin did post on BRF that Gerry won the high points at that meet by winning C and F hydro.
Dick, I know you will treasure these Loopers. Please post pictures here, when you finish restoring both of these historic engines so everyone else can enjoy them too.
thanks,
Paul A Christner
Waldman F 44 Looper has been found!
Wayne,
Thank you so much for keeping the original race sheets from the Hot Springs races for all these years and now posting them here. You are a great outboard racing historian and quite an asset to this site.
I talked with Dick Ollhoff recently and not only is he quite excited that he has THE Quincy Welding record book documented and further testimonial certified Waldman 44 F Looper (XF-14). He also said that he is extremely thankful to you for giving him the race history of Waldman's final race victory with this engine.
Wayne, to put the icing on the cake, I found the original dyno card from Quincy Welding, which further certifies the engine of Dick's. (Yes, I also have the original dyno cards from when the shop closed. Who knew at the time how important they would become. Really!)
We should also all thank Ron and Ted for giving us such a great fact-based web site on which to share and exchange racing history and knowledge.
thanks,
Paul A Christner
If a person wanted to restore
a looper, say an A-C, and could find one, what could they expect to pay?
Though I've been a devout OMC guy forever, reading about these fantastic motors has made a bug grown inside me...And, along with the 125 Stacker, these engines are looking pretty fun for a project....Awesome find you got there!!!!
skoontz, you'll never regret it
skoontz,
you'll never regret getting a looper and bringing it back to life again. the one i'm restoring was all locked up. it's a labor of love to see what made them tick. let me know if you have any questions of my project. the great thing about the project is all the great new friends you make and the help they give. it is like a family!
frank